Monday, January 16, 2012

Martin Luther King Day= Pajama Day

It was nice having an extra day off today.  I slept in till 9:30am.  I love that the older kids can hold their own in the mornings.  Abi is even content hanging out with the big kids till I wake from the dead.

I taught Jennica how to make pancakes.  (She’s 8)  She said she would make pancakes if I forget to wake up this week.  I told her if I forget to wake up this week she would have bigger problems than just no breakfast!

I was in a better mood today.  I tried extra hard to listen to Jace while he talked.  He must have ALL of your attention while talking to you or he starts his story ALL over again!  Sometimes it’s exhausting just waiting for him to get to the point.  
Today I did better.  I patiently looked at him as he HAD to explain everything (I just watched) Abi do.  
I noticed how handsome he is becoming.  I told him he looked older today and he agreed.  He said he noticed too when he looked in the mirror.  He said he thinks it’s because he just left his “bed head“ instead of fixing it.

Abi is saying a lot more too.  It so cute to hear her little voice, but I want her to continue signing.  She will sign and say the words most the time but I know this will lessen as her speech takes off.
Today she told me she would be ”right back“ as she left the room.  I have some videos of her doing sign language I need to post.

For Family Home Evening we had a great family discussion on Martin Luther King.  I guess it was more like a mini History lesson.  We talked about the Emancipation Proclamation and read MLK’s Dream Speech.  All of us had comments and questions to share.  I thought it was cool that this topic suited all ages of our young family.  (Great job Sam!)
For the activity we played our family favorite- Pictureka!  This is the ONLY game I have ever witnessed Sam lose.  Our little Jennica is UNSTOPPABLE!! It’s a quick find game and no matter how we scramble the boards Jennica is on FIRE.  It’s comical to watch.  I am so bad at it.  I love to play it just to see Sam loose! ha


I spent most my day transferring my Ember in India blog to Blogger.  It’s still work in progress but you can fin it at emberinindia.blogspot.com


Sunday, January 15, 2012

LATE...Late...late...



It doesn’t matter if church starts at 9am or 1pm.  We’re still late!  I’m not sure I should laugh or cry about my last few days.
I really did a number on my family by having a bad attitude for a few days.
Just goes to prove that mothers really are the heart of the home. (and I really need my sleep!)

World War 3 broke out last night at 4am in our house.  Can you imagine the attitudes that were exposed when 2 Hobi boys and 2 Hobi parents were competing for sleep.  A certain “little one” came into my room AGAIN.  Not wanting my sleep to be further disrupted I placed the little one at the bottom of brothers bed- only to wake him and make him angry to have a visitor.

I quickly escaped their room thinking they both would be too tired to put up too much grief.  Boy was I wrong!  It went on and on...

Then the little one was afraid of the dark and wanted the light on...Brother was annoyed and wanted the light off!

I went to bed last night in a bad mood.  By 4am it hadn’t improved much.

I’ve experienced something like this before.  I remember being angry that I just wanted to be in a bad mood all by myself.  The same thing that happened then happened again.  Days following my “entitled bad day” were ugly with the kids.

I need to be a better example and put on a happy face for a day.  We’d all be better off.

Better yet, I should hire a baby sitter and leave.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

If Mama aint Happy...


I was grumpy Mama bear today.  I couldn’t shake it either.  The sad thing is I know attitude is a choice.
I wanted to be grumpy...ALL day.

This also means my entire house was this way too.  I barked orders all morning to get chores done when I didn’t need to be so ugly.
It actually turned out to be a good thing that I was so grumpy while I cleaned the basement with the kids.  I threw away A LOT of stuff.  Sentimental things weren’t giving me warm and fuzzy’s.  I trashed them all!

We had dinner at a friends house tonight.  It was nice to escape the house for a few hours and visit with adults.
But I’m really tired right now and I even slept in till 10:30am!  I’m still recovering from Thursday Night.
I NEED my sleep.
I’m getting old.
grrr.....


Jace lost his FIRST tooth Thursday Night!  You can imagine my surprise Wednesday morning when he announced he lost his tooth late last night and the Tooth Fairy came!  This was news to me.  (Kudos to Mr. Hobi!)

He has been waiting for this tooth to come out for a LONG time.  He even asked Santa for a loose tooth!
Our Tooth Fairy is pretty reliable... most the time.   She still reminds us of Aunt April.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Love Club Hangover?



Love Club Hangover...sounds rebellious and naughty, right?  It so wasn’t.

Last night I “fell off the wagon” so-to-speak and it ran over me a few times.

Is there such a thing as a Chocolate hangover? I’ve never drank alochol (unless you count the Strawberry Wine Cooler that I rebelliously smelled and sipped once as a teenager while working at a grocery store in Zion National Park)  but if you saw the way I stumbled into the house at 2:30am this morning I think you would have suspected I was “under the influence.“  

And then once I told you I was at “LOVE CLUB” eating fruit dipped in chocolate, discussing religion, relationships and birth with my girlfriends you would call me a liar as I curled up into the fetal position and whimpered in pain.

The truth is I really was at “Love Club” having major “girl chat” till the wee hours of the morning.  "Oh, how I enjoyed it too!"  I do realize I am a huge hypocrite as I just posted healthy foods this week and then I go off on a chocolate binge.  But I did qualify this weakness in this post-  I Quote, “I am so fickle at best.”

I do allow an unhealthy divulgance to chocolate once a month at the above said “LOVE CLUB”  This is the official name to describe a meeting of women of different ages culture and/or religious beliefs or background getting together monthly to discuss various topics about life and relationships.  I look forward to these meetings.  It’s so refreshing!   And my friend Monique, creator of Love Club, always makes the best chocolate... something!  I enjoy every bite.  Those sweet moments are savored!  No guilt attached at all.  

Last night she also made cream cheese chocolate muffins.  It wasn’t enough that they were already full of sweet goodness...I had to dip it into chocolate too!  I did notice I was the only one that emptied my little dish full of dipping chocolate!
My body went into sugar shock at the same time I climbed into my car.  

It was raining outside and there was a lot of fog.  I couldn’t see 10 feet ahead of me as I drove through the winding roads of my slumbering town.  I had the heater cranked, wipers flying, brights on, and K-LOVE ringing in my ears when I was overcome with the desire to vomit!  I was so car sick.  I was the one driving!  

I was so happy to flop into bed  and try really hard NOT to think about chocolate and NOT to think about the duties that would face me when the sun came up.  I just wanted to be asleep, but of course sleep didn’t come to me.  
Instead I lay there thinking about the funny things shared that night, and how grateful I am to know such amazing women.

Morning came and I managed to get my kids to the school bus on time.  I rushed inside creeping quietly back upstairs hoping to sneak back to sleep before the baby awoke.
I pulled the covers over my head and let out a sigh of relief.....

“Mommy?”......

it was still worth it.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Healthy Foods


I don’t intend this to be a food blog, but FOOD is very much a part of my life.  (Especially when I am transforming into...TOTAL HOTNESS! hahaha)
I’ve played this game before. (and won 1st place!)  I know what it takes to loose weight.  It takes  me throwing out all the ice cream and chocolate.  I’m pretty confident that I ate chocolate or ice cream almost daily since October.  It was that darn Halloween Candy staring at me all day long!
And the darn Ben and Jerry’s that Sam would bring home!  (He was sabotaging me!)  It’s a known fact around here that I can out eat anyone in ice cream.  I’m just getting started with a PINT. 

I’ve been “The Biggest Looser” before and I did it by eating right.  So, today I pulled out some of my old favorites.
Blueberry yogurt w/ cottage cheese.
This is great with any flavor yogurt.  I especially like Chobani yogurt because it has live active cultures and probiotics. (which means it helps digestion and is good to your stomach lining)  It's a thicker yogurt and not full of sugar so if your looking for the candy tasting yogurt this is NOT it.  And I always buy 4% cottage cheese-even when I'm loosing weight.  I like this brand because the ingredients are natural and simple. If you look at the ingredients to your food you want all items to be REAL not crazy chemical names.


"Killer salad" Named by Jarom
This is my lunch, and I could eat it for lunch EVERYDAY! (and I did while in a Biggest Looser competition and I won!) Even on days when I'm super hungry this salad does the trick!
Not all lettuce is created equal! I always use ROMAINE salad.  Iceberg lettuce has NO nutritional value.  Romaine is so much better for you. I dump pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, cheese, crackers, and half an avocado on my salad.  I use a yogurt dressing.

Lentil Tacos

I love these tacos.  They are tasty and I can have them on the table in 15 minuets flat!
Just add taco seasoning (check the ingredients. NO MSG. )

and Green smoothie.

I forgot to mention where I learned about Green Smoothies.  Check out the Green Smoothie Girl!  I bought her manual and learned so much about healthy food!
Today I added the other half of my avocado to the smoothie and no one even noticed.  It was a bit thicker but no one noticed.  Not even Jennica!

I'm a big believer in eating Fresh, Whole and Natural Foods.  When I don't eat them my body reacts.  That's where I am today.  I've got to get back to the basics.


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

"Total Hotness!"



I’m on a mission.  A mission to total “Hotness!” 
I have till Cinco De Mayo to transform my current body to...TOTAL HOTNESS!

Ok, so the real story goes something like this:

Sam and I are fat and lazy.  We don’t like how we feel with our extra weight so we did what we ALWAYS do and pulled out the Double Dare!
Nothing gets me moving like a little COMPETITION!!

I can tell he’s a little nervous about this.  He’s prodding around trying to get me to tell him what workouts I’m doing.
I know he wants my idea’s but I’m NOT falling for his tricks!

I have Mommy Power!  
I’m doing crazy workouts all day long!  Who needs the Gym?
I’m up and down 2 flights of STAIRS a billion times a day!  I’m RUNNING errands, LIFTING Abi every time she says
“Hold You” and I’m CURLING my hair a few times a week!
Each morning I do a few good STRETCHES in bed and SIT UPS every time I get out of bed.  I SQUAT in the bathroom all the time and have a two year supply  of PULL UPS .

He’s got NOTHING on me!

Poor guy.  He’s up and running outside in FREEZING temperatures before the sun comes up.  Sometimes I think he tries to hard. 

Today I boosted my stair climbing workout by carrying this 50lb bag of salt.  Ahhh, hurts so good! 

Monday, January 9, 2012

Green Smoothies!

                                           

I've started them up again! Green Smoothies are on the Menu!! I went on a Green Smoothie strike for about 5 months. I don't know what happened but I didn't want anything to do with them. I made them for Abi almost daily but I never drank them. I had no desire. I'm ready for them now. What I like best about them is they take away my sweet cravings and my munchies. When I'm drinking them frequently I can walk away from cookies and chocolate.
My kids drink them too. Abi LOVES them! She does a dance and a big cheer saying, "Smoothie!" (Actually sounds like "m-o-o-dey")

It use to take my kids 30 minuets to drink a smoothie. Not Kidding! I had to start the timer and threaten them with more if they didn't drink it before the buzzer rang. They were ridiculous sitting at the table with tiny sips and gags.
Times have changed. (And I got better at making them.)

Jace enjoys his smoothies and always walks away with a mustache
.

Jennica can be a Drama Queen when she wants to but ALWAYS drinks it. Here she is putting on a show because I have the camera out.

but when I return just a few minuets later I get this...


Jarom enjoys his with a straw while reading. (Always with a straw)




And Abi always comes back for seconds. I LOVE finding these...


As of late this is our After School Snack. It satisfies them till I get dinner on the table.
What is in the Green Smoothie you ask?


I start with a lot of GREENS. I fill my blender with Spinach, Kale, Chard & a little parsley with 2 cups of water.

Then I blend it down to this...

and add a slice of the lemon and a tiny bit of ginger with Flax Oil and blend it again.

Then I add some natural sweetener.

2 bananas, little Mango, an Orange, Strawberries, and Blueberries. Everything in the bowl is what I use. Sometimes I add about 1/4 cup of pineapple coconut juice.

Now the Green Smoothie turns purple

And Abi comes running because she knows what I have just created!

Try them! They are Yummy!

While I'm at it...

Jennica's favorite snack is:


I'm not a fan of Tuna. (gag) but Jace and Abi sure did like it today.

Dinner tonight was soooo yummy. (if I do say so myself)

I hate typing recipe's so I took a picture instead!



I use to just double this but now that Abi is BIGGER and eats what we eat- I realized I need to triple it. We all enjoyed it.
It's nice to have a little success in the kitchen. I was on a bad loosing streak.